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History and successes

275 years of university history form the foundation for our success today

Established on 4 November 1743 by Margrave Friedrich von Brandenburg-Bayreuth and expanded from 1769 by Margrave Alexander von Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität was transferred to the state of Bavaria in 1810. It has been housed in the former margraviate residence in Erlangen since 1818.

In the summer semester of 1890, the number of students enrolled at the University reached 1,000 for the first time. The Nürnberger Hochschule für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, a college of business, economics and social sciences, was integrated into FAU in 1961, as was the Pädagogische Hochschule Nürnberg, a teacher training college, in 1972. Today, approximately 40,000 students study at our FAU campuses in Erlangen, Nuremberg and Fürth.

At an international level, FAU stands out as an innovative university founded on diversity with an outward-looking, international perspective.